A new week... Yea!

I feel this is going to be a great week!

Jim is still tired, but not sick..

Soo.....

off to work I go....

OOPS..
At 0515 we had to call 911....
Jim fainted in the bathroom and hit his head on the hamper...


After going to MMC, we are now home, 12 Noon, and everything is alright...
The final diag. was vasovagal episode/ weakness/ hypotension..

After IV fluids, and eating his blood pressure came back up and we came home..
(Chest x-ray showed no change...yea!)

Now he is in bed sleeping...
Looks good...
Soooooo,
I'll go to work tomorrow...
I am getting "house bound"... or something...

I can't wait to take care of my ortho patients...  (really)...

**Blessings for today..

**911 & Paramedics
**Great neighbors who wake up early to check on us!
**Thoughtful sisters who send great surprises in the mail to Jim!! (Gift cards, money and prayers!)


Karron

Saturday.. A beautiful day

This is a short video that I made from the photos from friends and family of their "little ones".
Now all of us have many more to add, which I plan to do in the future...
What joy these little guys bring to our homes and lives...

It is a good day to celebrate with Jim the many friends, family and pets who mean so much to both of us...

We still feel the emptiness and betrayal from the college, but we have so much to be thankful and we must go on... this setback will not stop either of us from enjoying each other and the joys we will have in the future...

Blessings:

*Our true friends who give us hope and meaning..
*Our little furry friends who stay by our side at night and in our darkests moments give us love...

Karron

The Case Manager or Patient Navigator: Providing Support for Cancer Patients During Treatment and Beyond - nccn.com

The Case Manager or Patient Navigator: Providing Support for Cancer Patients During Treatment and Beyond - nccn.com


This has been a good site to go to! Very helpful during this time...

Thoughts for Sunday...

When Jim was first diagnoised with stage IV NSCLC  (lung cancer), my co-workers gave us over 24 gift cards from one of our favorite places to eat, "The Little Cottage".  Jim enjoyed every meal! the picture on my home page is of him eating one of the home-cooked meals from the Cottage. What a thoughtful group of nurses I work with! The fatigue he experiened was so profound during this time, he would have to take another nap after eating!

Bad New/Good News

On Monday, I felt betrayed by Jim's boss...
Tuesday, I had a big temper tantrum...
Today I limited my blog to members only...
Tomorrow will be another beautiful day....(I hope!)

Coming home from a long day at work, my husband greeted me by saying, "I have some news to share", some good, some not so good!.....
Later....
I sat some articles and containers on the front walk outside our house on Tuesday.... (articles from the old apartment near work), and they were taken by someone who thought I had the trash sat out for the men in the morning like all my neighbors had done!!!
This was not so bad, but I had a large bag of dry cat food for the kittens with the "junk"!!!!
Oh, well, they will have to eat Fancy Feast again...


Dr. Esplin's visit went well...
Jim will have his 4th Alimta infusion this Friday....

<a href="http://www.inspire.com/inspire/group/lung-cancer-survivors/"><img src="http://www.inspire.com/badge/lung-cancer-survivors/dyn/Karron" alt="Together we're better - Inspire Lung Cancer Survivors Support Community" border="0"/></a>

I'm so glad I found this site..
It has been helpful to Jim and I this week!

*I did not know that the "bumps" on his arms were "skin tumors"!
*Some lung cancer survivors have had radiation to them...
*I am learning about all sorts of medication and chemotherapy side effects for others!

Going to the Illinois State Fair! (Thursday!)

Yea! Jim drove the car for the first time in 2 weeks! (No accidents or falling asleep at the wheel!)

I enjoyed the state fair, but this is the first time going without Jim....

He enjoyed the pictures....

This is a very busy (good) time for orthopedic nurses.....

Getting home late (no so good)....

Karron

*Blessings

*Cooler summer weather!

*Fast hair cuts at the mall.....

A New Week... (Monday)

<><><><><><>

<>

<><><><><><>

Monday Morning!

Ready to start the new week! Jim has only one doctor's appointment and his side-effects should be lessening...

I have been so very fortunate to work with caring people! Last week I again received a letter from Memorial Medical Center explaining that my co-workers contributed over 120 hours of their own paid time off balances!
As Jim and I face challenging cut-backs in home expenses during his illness, this donation is just too much!!

It is difficult to express how we really feel to them, for we know that many, if not all, are doing the same in their household. 

This week I will post several pictures  from my collection of "caring nurses" at Memorial... Some are from years past...
 Looking through them has been a wonderful experience, and I hope that by sharing these, many others can see their dedication and caring .
Jim and I are so thankful for the love and understanding they have expressed these past 9 months!
Karron

Beautiful Sunday Morning!

It's a beautiful Sunday morning at the Murphy's!

The sun is shinning, but it's not terribly hot! The lawn is looking great from the rain last night, (no water in the basement)!

Marshall came home from a 3 day expedition...hunting cicadas?

Blessings

Summer rain..

Surprise Lilies...

Our Saviour's Parish Prayer Group...

Still Summer.... (Saturday)

Today we are sending "stuff" to the Woodlawn Farm yard sell...
I cannot believe that we still have more for another yard sell, but we do!
Woodlawn Farm is Jim's special project... The Underground Railroad is his passion...
What great history.. The committee takes care of the Woodlawn Farm which is in constant need of repair.. meaning, more fundraisers and donations...

Blessings for today...

 *Great friends, willing to deliver items for lawn sale at Woodlawn farm

 *"Do nothing" Saturday morning!

*2 entertaining baby kittens, (ready to go to new home)

*Wonderful pictures and memories of family and friends

Update:

Jim still needs prayer for his health...

Side effects are still ongoing after Alimta... (Weakness, constipation and nausea)

Finally Friday.....

Jim has just left for work with the help of his friend, Denny.

Much more difficulty walking today..

I will shop today for a light weight walker that he can take with him...

(I don't think he wishes to have one, but I promised I wouldn't get one with a pink basket attached!)

It is so difficult to see him need help to walk...

I want to post more pictures today of very, very happy times in our lives...

As Director of Public Information of Illinois College, Jim has had wonderful opportunities to meet people from around the country, some famous, some not... however, he has met people who are very intelligent, successful and entertaining...

He has had the good fortune to meet and visit with them as they visited the campus for lectures and graduation ceremonies, creating great memories!

While home today, I will look through the many albums for these pictures which seem to have been taken just yesterday!

Karron

Jim with Richard Dreyfus

*Today's Blessings

*Denny, Jim's friend and walking buddy

*Concerned neighbors and friends

*Entertaining kittens

*Great books by Janet Evonavitch and James Patterson

*Sharron, my helpful and cheerful sister

*Jenny, my great and understanding nurse manager

Lessons Learned While "Cutting" the Expenses..

Today is Thursday...

The decision to not have a weekly housekeeper was a partial success...
I found I had to clean the bathroom with supplies that I had never heard of..
I ruined the carpet steam cleaner while attempting to clean the carpet of "scoopable" cat litter..
SO... we concluded that we needed her at least every other weekend!

TJ Maxx cutback worked...(I drive another route home from work)

Attempting to cut back on the Fancy Feast cat food failed... all the cats refused to eat the cheaper brand, (but I will keep trying)

We are still working with the AOL people :(

Finally, the apartment is almost closed... all the personal items have been sold...

And, we made money with the yard sell!

Total savings monthly???  $$$$

Update:
Jim is happy to be driven to work for about 3 hours a day...
The rash on his face is not as bad...
and he is walking better! :)


Blessings...

Sharron & Butter

My sister is here with us in Illinois..
My co-workers have filled in at work and have contributed many hours of their own vacation time..
Our church members are helping Jim walk 3X week with our poodle...
& many, many more!
Off to work....



Karron

New Opportunities....

Jim & I have discovered new and different opportunities the last 6 months... Some have been successful and even fun, however, a few have caused quite a bit of adjustment!
Let me explain...(and this is the short list)
While on vacation in Michigan, we reviewed our family budget and found we could save $__.__ with the elimination of the
1.weekly housekeeper
2. AOL account
3.the apartment close to the hospital where I work, (used for "snow days", over-time shifts etc)
4.TJ Maxx shopping sprees
5.Fancy Feast cat food

I'll post more about the 3 weeks of "trial" elimination of these items, (aka, the " Murphy Household Waste List"), tomorrow..
I have to clean the house, feed the cats dry food, and open a G-Mail account....after convincing the AOL people that I really want to close this account after 10 years..( HA!)

P.S. Jim is not driving the car to work this week due to the extreme fatigue and slight dizziness...

Karron & Jim

More pictures... Jim during chemotherapy

My first blog!

As I begin this first entry, my husband is napping in the next room, sleeping in between the doses of Ritalin...
In November, 2009, Jim was diagnosed with NSCLC (lung cancer)..
He has never smoked...After leaving a 2 week stay at the hospital, he was given 3-6 months to live even with chemotherapy. It has been almost 9 months and he is still working part-time and is optimistic that the latest news that his lung tumor shows that it's sensitive to the EGFR/HER2 inhibitor!
We received a call while on vacation in Michigan from his oncologist telling us that his tumor was "positive" for the epidermal growth factor receptor, giving her "another treatment option"!
Making this journey into blogging, is quite new for both of us..
(Jim plans to start blogging this week while he is home with the effects of "chemo-brain" from the latest drug treatment, Alimta.)
I look forward to sharing with others and learning more about the possible research and trial/ studies undertaken by those with similar health challenges.

Karron
*Please write to me if you have time!